TEHRAN (Iran News) – Soheil Mehdi, the head of League Organization’s Competitions Committee of Iran Football Federation, said the Disciplinary Committee of Federation will decide on two postponed matches of the Persian Gulf Pro League.
On Sunday, two Iranian league matches, Nassaji Mazandaran vs Foolad Khuzestan and Esteghlal’s trip to Pars Jonoubi Jam, were postponed after Foolad and Esteghlal reported 16 and 13 coronavirus cases among their team members respectively on Saturday.
The identities of those with a positive test result remain unknown, but Esteghlal’s skipper Voria Ghafouri, Mohammad Daneshgar, Farshid Esmaeili, and Dariush Shojaeian are said to be among the infected players in the Tehran-based side.
The Blues refused to fly to Jam on Saturday after the outcome of the tests and manager Farhad Majidi called off the team’s training sessions for two weeks.
However, Mehdi said all reported players and staff members of the two sides will have to be retested in medical centers authorized by the Health Ministry before the Disciplinary Committee makes a final decision on two matches.
Should the new tests confirm the two clubs’ reports, Mahdi said, their Sunday’s games will be declared postponed – otherwise it could lead to disciplinary consequences for Esteghlal and Foolad.
According to the instructions laid out by the federation, a league game would be postponed only if more than a quarter of a team’s members test positive for COVID-19.
The Persian Gulf Pro League returned to action on June 24 after a nearly four-month suspension caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Saturday’s fixtures saw leader Persepolis claim a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Shahin Bushehr at the Azadi Stadium, thanks to Mehdi Torabi’s second-half goal.
Elsewhere, Tractor was back in the winning ways after an Ehsan Haj-Safi brace gave the Tabriz-based side a 2-0 home win over San’at Naft Abadan.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
